TOPIC:

Served: General Smuts.

Jacob de Villiers Neethling, known as Jaap Neethling, served throughout the entire Anglo‑Boer War. Beginning as a dispatch rider, he later rose to the rank of corporal under General Jan Smuts and Fighting General Jacobus Louis van Deventer. His service spanned the conflict from its opening engagement to its conclusion and included extensive campaigning in the Cape Colony and Namaqualand.

Early Life & Background

Jaap was born on 8 September 1878 at Middelburg in the Transvaal, the son of Willem Hendrik Neethling Jnr (1847–1912) and Johanna Jacoba de Villiers (1855–1918), who married at Lydenburg in 1872.

He grew up in a large family of at least eight children, in a household shaped by the establishment of the Zuid‑Afrikaansche Republiek and a strong martial tradition—both his grandfather and great‑grandfather had fought at the Battle of Blood River.

According to his Anglo‑Boer War medal application, later submitted by his widow, Jaap was present at Kraaipan in October 1899, the first engagement of the war, and later fought at Magersfontein. It was likely during this early phase that he first encountered Jacobus Louis van Deventer, then serving with the State Artillery.

The Cape Campaign

In 1901 the Boer leadership dispatched General Jan Smuts on a daring raid into the Cape Colony at a moment when conventional victory was no longer possible. The purpose was not territorial conquest but strategic survival: to draw British forces away from the stricken Boer republics, to acquire horses, arms, and supplies, to sustain morale among the burghers, and—above all—to provoke a rising among Cape Afrikaners that might widen the war and prolong resistance.

Smuts’ expedition was therefore conceived as a campaign of movement and endurance rather than decisive battle, intended to demonstrate that the Boer cause was not yet broken even as pressure elsewhere became overwhelming.

Jaap and his uncle, Johannes Jacobus Neethling, joined General Jan Smuts during the Transvaal expedition into the Cape Colony. Johannes served on Smuts’ staff, while Jaap rode with the fighting commandos.

The campaign was marked by constant movement, scarce supplies, and unrelenting British pursuit. Van Deventer emerged as one of Smuts’ most aggressive subordinates, frequently operating with mobile detachments tasked with harassing columns, threatening supply lines, and diverting enemy attention.

As losses mounted, Neethling’s responsibilities increased and he was promoted to Corporal within van Deventer’s commando^[1].
 
Family Loss

In September 1901, Smuts and a small staff party—including Johannes Jacobus Neethling—were ambushed at Moordenaarspoort in the Dordrecht district. Johannes was mortally wounded and later died in the Dordrecht gaol hospital.
Despite this loss Jaap remained on active service.

A clue as to the whereabouts of Jaap on that fateful day was recorded in the biography “Jan Christian Smuts” by his son J.C. Smuts where he recorded the following encounter:

“Near Dordrecht on the 7th September the way out from the mountains led through a narrow defile known as "Moordenaars Poort". The British were known to be at the other side of this poort and the question was whether they had not already taken up positions in the gap itself.

My father set out to investigate at four that afternoon with a party of four, including Tottie Krige and Johannes Neethling.

Halfway along the poort they met with another reconnoitring party consisting of Japie Neethling, the two Adendorff brothers and another person who had just come back from the British end of the pass, and said the pass was clear but that the British were camped immediately beyond.

My father still did not feel happy about the position, so he took with him Johannes Neethling and the two Adendorff brothers and went to investigate. He brought up the rear and in view of the bushy cover in the pass and its ideal setting for an ambush, it was decided that at the first sign of danger it would be a case of every man for himself.”

Attack on the Cape Police

Following the death of his uncle the campaign continued and on 5 February 1902, van Deventer led the attack on the British column at Middelpost, destroying wagons and supplies under stiff resistance. Only weeks later the campaign reached a violent crescendo.

At Windhoek, below the Gifberg, the combined commandos launched a dawn assault on a fortified Cape Police camp. The fighting closed rapidly to point blank range and descended into hand to hand combat inside the farm buildings. Nearly all senior figures were hit.
Jaap was wounded on 25 February 1902 whilst Van Deventer himself was grievously wounded, sustaining gunshot injuries through the throat, jaw, and tongue.
 
As Taffy & David Shearing noted in their book “The Long Ride”[1]:

“The commandos acute problem was that virtually all their leaders were wounded. Gen Van Deventer, Alex Boshoff and Ben Bouwer were all wounded, as well as Nicholas Swart, Casper Otto, Otto Sasnowski, Bobby Mare, Jaap Neethling, Huisamen, a Van Rhynsdorp rebel, and Wollie de Vos.

Most of the wounds were pretty serious, because in the final fight the two sides had been firing at each other from just a few yards apart.

Sakman Meyer was with Van Deventer when they were charging one of the sangars. As a stream of blood shot over Meyer‟s face, Van Deventer collapsed on the ground with a bullet through his throat, jaw and tongue.

He struggled to breath with the blood pouring out, and at one stage Meyer thought he was going to choke to death. He gave first aid and got Van Deventer into a cart. They met Gen Smuts and Reitz who were coming along in a cart as Van Deventer was being taken for medical treatment.

Van Deventer was so exhausted from loss of blood, and his tongue was so swollen, that he was unable to speak. All the seriously wounded went straight through to the Van Rhynsdorp hospital were they were patched up by the local Doctor, Campbell Botha.”

Jaap’s recovery proved sufficient for a return to field service at a time when few unscathed men were left.

Attack on Copper Towns

The operational focus now shifted decisively to Namaqualand and their associated copper towns.

Despite their loss and injuries Smuts aimed at Springbokfontein, Concordia, Nababeep and O’Okiep, while van Deventer’s command formed the mobile manoeuvre wing of the campaign: interdicting relief columns, destroying railway lines and culverts, and maintaining constant pressure around the garrisons.

At Springbokfontein, attacks on blockhouses were resisted, but persistent night pressure yielded valuable arms and mounts.

Concordia surrendered without bloodshed, handing over hundreds of rifles, ammunition and horses that briefly restored the commandos’ striking power.

O’Okiep, however, proved far more formidable. Smuts imposed a siege by pressure—sniping, selective bombing, disruption of communications, and continual threats to relief columns.

Van Deventer’s men were central to this design, engaging when useful and withdrawing by night. Improvisation reached its height with the attempted use of a dynamite laden locomotive, a dramatic but unsuccessful stratagem.

Throughout these weeks Neethling rode and fought while still bearing the effects of his Windhoek wound, just as van Deventer continued operations despite the lingering effects of his own grave injuries.

By April 1902, disease, lack of forage, and failing horses made further operations increasingly unsustainable. When Smuts was summoned to peace negotiations, the commandos were ordered to conserve strength. Van Deventer covered withdrawals and fought delaying actions as the siege eased.

The end came not in Namaqualand but at Vereeniging. For the Cape commandos, the news was crushing. Under Ben Bouwer’s direction, the surviving Transvalers laid down arms at Aties on 19 June 1902.

Jacobus de Villiers Neethling was among those who laid down their arms—wounded, exhausted, and one of few of the original three hundred survivors of the long Cape campaign.

After the War

After the war Neethling returned to civilian life, married, and started a family.

On 19 March 1909 he died of malaria at Suikerbosfontein, Carolina, aged 30.

His young widow applied for his ABO medal in 1923 and was awarded posthumously.

He was survived by three young children, including a son born one month after his death, named Jacob de Villiers Neethling (Jnr) in his honour.

References:
[1] “General Jan Smuts and his Long Ride” by Taffy & David Shearing
[2] www.ourcivilisation.com/smartboard/shop/armstrng/map2.htm